Posted on 03/20/2010 10:29:14 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
At the House Rules Committee meeting, Democrats desperate to pass their national health care plan are running into the barrier of basic civics. Here is the problem: The Senate has passed its HCR bill. If the House passes the same bill, it goes on to the president; once he signs it, the bill becomes law. But House Democrats, when they vote for the Senate bill using the "Deem & Pass" dodge, also want to simultaneously pass a package of amendments to the law. Except HCR will not, at that point, be law. It will only become law when the president signs it. Congress can amend the law -- it does so all the time -- but can it amend something that isn't law?
Which is where Democrats are tripping up. Passage of their HCR proposal should be very simple: Senate passes it, House passes it, president signs it. But House Democrats are terrified of voting for the unpopular bill, so they hope to pass it by "Deem & Pass," in which they will vote, not for the bill, but for a rule that both deems the Senate bill to have passed and, in the same vote, passes the package of amendments. So House Democrats will have two fig leaves: 1) they didn't vote directly for the Senate bill, and 2) they voted to simultaneously amend -- to "fix" -- the Senate bill.
The problem is the sequence. Can the House vote to amend something that isn't the law, as the Senate bill will not be law before the president's signature? The Rules Committee meeting turned into mass confusion when Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman said, "We're not going to 'deem' the bill passed. We're going to pass the Senate bill I would be against the idea of 'deeming' something -- we either pass it or we don't."
To Republican ears, that sounded as if Waxman was speaking out in support of a direct vote on the Senate plan. "I hope we're making news here," said Republican Rep. Joe Barton. If so, Barton added, "Praise the Lord!" Other Democrats jumped in to say that no, there would not be a direct vote on the Senate bill.
Barton then asked whether there would be some period of time between House passage of the Senate bill and House passage of the HCR amendments. During that period of time, the president would sign the Senate HCR bill into law. For the House to amend the HCR law, Barton said, it has to be law, which means the president has to have signed it. "If he doesn't, it ain't a law," Barton said.
Democratic Rep. Sander Levin jumped in. "We're going to be amending the law," he claimed. Waxman added, "We change current law, and the current law will be the Senate bill once it's voted on in the House."
But it won't be law until the president signs it. Obviously, Democrats are performing such strange contortions because many of their members are scared of voting for a bill that will likely mean defeat for them in November. But their attempts to avoid responsibility have created some very basic problems.
Sounds like they have tied themselves into knots... again. Are they going to vote against it before they vote for it, or the other way around? I just love this “most ethical congress in history”!
See link at post #5,....Seesions is laying out the cost right now!
The House is making its position very clear - it will take HR 3590, ONLY IF it is modified by reconciliation. If reconciliation is "not passed," then HR 3590 isn't "deemed passed."
Welcome to......
Anarchy
defined
a :absence or denial of any authority or established order b : absence of order
bttt
They'd have to sign the Senate bill as is, hand it to Obama to sign, then vote on ammending the bill, which ammendments would have to be approved by the Senate? Fat chance.
I’d say that for Obama that would be payback from a higher power than he! :)
Man, could the Democrats use some grownups on their side. This is pathetic.
I wish Sessions would have commented on them constantly using the ‘buzz word’ set by Zero. I’m getting SICK of hearing ‘status quo’.
I can’t figure that one out either.
I’m sure Obama is proud of the chaos he’s created. He’s a madman. And it should be coming very clear to the idiots who voted for him that this guy doesn’t give a crap about this country, the rule of law or this country’s people. It’s all about him. My guess is that sometime during his presidency, this hubris of his is going to bite him back just like a Greek tragedy. And he will deserve it.
Chaos results in nothing but evil doings.
Anyone know which states can recall their reps?
That's about right. They are really all we have.
Classic.
wonkroom tweets
Fox News is reporting that leadership is discussing not using deem and pass...
ROFL! Sessions just told the Dems that the Republicans would figure out the ‘doc fix’ next year when they’re in the majority!
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